Madras HC stays look out circular against Karti, 4 others

 In a major relief to former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram, the Madras High Court on Thursday stayed a lookout circular (LOC) issued to him by the Union Government in connection with Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) case.
 
When Karti's petition came up for hearing, Justice M Duraisamy granted interim stay and directed the concern Ministry to file its affidavit by September 4.
 
Karti's counsels Gopal Subramanian and Satish Parsaran argued that the LOC issued againt their client was "politically motivated".
 
Additional Solicitor General G Rajagopalan contended that Karti had no locus standi to challenge the LOC issued against him since he did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate even after summons were issued.
 
He also told the High court that the notice was served to prevent Karti from fleeing India  like liquor baron Vijay Mallya.
 
Counsels representing Karti strongly objected to the comparison with Vijay Mallya by the Solicitor General.

Recently, Karti also approached the Madras High Court challenging the summons issued by CBI.
   
The CBI had registered a FIR against Karti and INX Media along with eight others for alleged irregularities in granting FIPB clearance to the media house for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2007.
 
In May, CBI conducted raids on the residential and business premises of Karti in Chennai in connection with the case.